The grapple hook is a late-game unlock which doesn't do anything but circumvent the "parkour", which was the single non derivative element of the game. The zombies look and act exactly as they do in Dead Island. The gunplay is exactly (totally half assed) as it is in Dead Island. The melee is exactly as it is in Dead Island. The crafting and loot is exactly as it is in Dead Island. The quests are exactly as they are in Dead Island, being almost entirely drawn from the fetch quest reject bin.

The world itself... is significantly more boring than that of Dead Island. Whereas the campaign of Dead Island is punctuated by abrupt changes in environment, the whole of Dying Light occurs in a dingy, ramshackle urban landscape.

Black hole is more appropriate though, as MS has not been absent but aggressively detrimental to PC gaming. Shit like GFMFWL and DX10 were legitimately harmful. Any promising IP that floats beyond MS's event horizon is forever lost.